An auger is a mechanism used to move liquid or granular materials. For example, augers are often found in the agricultural industry for moving seed and feed. Augers typically include a spiral blade, referred to as flighting, coiled around a shaft. These augers move the material in a straight line and are often positioned horizontally or at an incline. The lack of flexibility of the straight auger shaft may not be desirable in various applications.
Coreless or shaftless augers are known and provide the added benefit of being flexible, as opposed to straight. Coreless augers, however, are typically not as strong as augers having shafts. Consequently, coreless augers are often used to move light material and may not be practical for moving dense materials like sand, for example. Specifically, heavier materials may provide additional drag on the auger that may stretch or otherwise temporarily deform the auger. The unpredictable nature of the deformation of the coreless auger when used with heavier materials may not be desirable.
Existing sand bagging devices typically require that the bulk sand be elevated by a front-end loader into a waiting hopper before being fed into the auger. Front-end loaders and hoppers are expensive and not readily available, particularly during a flooding emergency when such units may be in high demand. The use of front-end loaders also introduces additional risk, particularly when operated on uneven surfaces. In some cases, the intake of sand into an existing sand bagging device may require additional power sources, silos, vibrators, secondary augers, or the like, which add undesirable cost and complexity to the sand bagging device.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present disclosure as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.